Contractor shows committment to Crawley

A major property and services contractor has signed a charter, pledging to employ local people and use local suppliers.

Crawley Borough Council hailed the move by Kier as a show of commitment to the town.

Kier - a property, residential, construction and services group - is one of the council’s developer partners and is working on three schemes at Manor Royal, providing hundreds of jobs.

The company has recently completed two extensions at Manor Green Primary School and College, and is now developing the Acorn Retail Park, which will house Aldi, Marks and Spencer Simply Food and Smyth’s Toys.

Speaking at the signing Steve Cresswell, operations director for Kier Construction in Crawley, said: “It’s a real pleasure to be building on our doorstep, having recently moved offices to Manor Royal, and seeing the area grow and develop for the future.

“At Kier we always set out to contribute in a positive way to the communities in which we work and we’re pleased to be able to offer vital training opportunities during the construction of the new Acorn Retail Park, including employing an apprentice on the scheme.”

Peter Smith, cabinet member for economic development, said: “The council is delighted that Kier has signed up to the Crawley Charter as this shows significant support for Crawley people and businesses and is a further vote of confidence in our skills and employment plan.”

The charter requires developers and partners to demonstrate their willingness to employ local people, create local supplier opportunities and contribute to raising skills for people in the area.

This can include committing to providing apprenticeships, promoting opportunities for local businesses to provide services and materials, keeping local people well-informed, supporting local initiatives and working closely with local organisations like Central Sussex College and secondary schools to promote the value of skills and training.

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.